大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Claire White of 大象传媒 Scotland on behalf of James Dale Thomson and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I joined the TA in 1939 aged 20 years. There was an influx to the TA as our generation thought we'd show Hitler our might!

On 6th June 1942 I was taken prisoner in the Western Desert. Four of us were travelling to an observation post in an armoured car (as we did every day) and a German armoured car sneaked up on us and blew off the front of our car.

The four of us were taken prisoner in a German unit where there were other captive allies. One of the other prisoners declared 'I'm not going to no prison camp' and recommended that we 'Run!'. All four of us ran but the others were shot dead. I was the only survivor.

I was bundled into the hold of a ship and en route to Germany I stopped in Italy. Three ships travelled between Tripoli and Naples but the two other boats were sunk by the Royal Navy. Again, I was a lucky survivor.

I spent one uneventful year in a prison camp in Italy before the Germans came to take us away. We were loaded 60 at a time onto cattle trucks and taken on a six day journey to Germany. The doors of the cattle truck were never opened and we survived on a few scraps of food.

In Germany I was sent to work in a flour mill. My job was to bag 'white' flour (for camp staff) and 'black' flour (for prisoners). Sometimes I'd purposely mix up the labels and I was sent to a copper mine in Dipold es Walde for two years as punishment.

I hadn't been in the mine long when I was marched into the manager's office and told I was causing him a lot of bother. We were unruly prisoners who were always arguing with him and we were to be taught a lesson. This was the first time I was frightened.

When the war finished we made our way home in dribs and drabs. I journeyed to Haywards Heath via Brussels. If felt wonderful to touch British soil again. We were re-fitted with fresh clothing and given railway passes home. When I arrived at Aberdeen station my mother walked straight past me. She didn't recognise the boy who had left her weighing 13.5 stones and returned weighing 8 stones. She soon remedied my weight loss with her fine home cooking.

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